


Wanted Dead or Alive

by prettycheese21



Series: Meet the Winchesters [7]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bonding, Cas and Faith bond, Divergent Timelines, Gen, Inspired by A Christmas Carol, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, LITERALLY, Major Life Decisions, Mentions of Blood, School Shootings, Shooting, What-If, hurt and eventual comfort, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-15 21:18:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11814381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettycheese21/pseuds/prettycheese21
Summary: In order to allow Faith to decide her fate, Cas takes her to the future that's set to happen. Things are not as happy as they seem when things turn ugly, showing Faith the impact of her decision.





	Wanted Dead or Alive

**Author's Note:**

> Well this took longer than it should have. Oops.  
> The cliffhanger is now resolved! Read on to find out how it ends! Enjoy!

_Anna shook her head. "No. This isn't happening." She grabbed Faith by the shoulders and began to shake her. "Faith, get up. Don't do this!" When she received no response, she began to tear up. "Please, Faith!" Another moment passed and there was still no response. Tears in her eyes, she pleaded with Cas, "Fix this."_

_"How_ can  _he fix it?" Sam asked curiously._

_"I could try slipping into her subconscious and see what's going on," the angel suggested._

_"Could that really work?"_

_"I don't know. I've never tried it before."_

_Anna laughed wryly. "Oh, he's never tried it before. That's just great!"_

_"Do it," Cassie said firmly, speaking up for the first time since the group returned bloody._

_"What?" Anna gaped at her friend. "How can you even think to let him poke around in Faith's head? He doesn't know what he's doing! He could make it worse or-"_

_"-or he could save her life," the blonde commented. "What other choice do we have? We can't just let her die." Cassie's voice cracked as she finished her sentence, sniffling as she took a breath._

_Gillian nodded, holding back tears of her own. "She's right. We need to try something."_

_Anna processed the words told to her. Shutting her eyes, she took Faith's cold hand in hers. She took a shuddering breath, tears slipping down her face. "Fine," she sniffed. "Just... Bring her back. Please. I can't lose her."_

_"I will do my best," Cas told her, his blue eyes shining with the utmost sincerity. He didn't make Anna move as he bent over, placing his hands on either side of Faith's face. A minute later, the angel dropped to his knees as most of the tension left his body. Within moments, Cas was spiraling out of the real world and into Faith's mind, leaving the others to sit and wait for something- anything- to happen._

_It was all up to Cas now._

*****

It was a blank slate, her mind. Everything was black; the walls, ceiling, and floor that gave Faith's mind a shape were the same shade of deep black. As Cas explored the area, his footsteps echoed in her mind. He didn't have to walk very far before he found Faith. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor. Her clothes were a contrasting bright white and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She looked normal, serene even, as she stared ahead; her back to him.

"Faith," Cas said to gain her attention.

Faith turned around, slight surprise showing on her face. "Cas? What are you doing here?"

"I came to bring you back. Your body is healed. Come on. I'll show you the way." He held a hand out for her to take.

She shook her head. "I'm not going. I can't."

"Why not?"

She turned around, bringing her knees to her chest. Her brows furrowed as she tried to search for the words to explain it. "I just... I'm not wanted there. I know I'm not wanted there. It's easier to just stay here and wait to drift away than to go back out there and be with people who only tolerate my presence. I make their lives worse by being there."

"You have to know that's not true," Cas told her.

Faith shook her head. "You don't know them like I do. I can tell what they're thinking. It..." She teared up. "It breaks my heart to do this, but it's just easier this way. I've been thinking about this for a while and now I have the excuse."

Cas just stared at her, searching deep within her eyes. "You truly believe this, don't you?" Faith looked away, unable to answer him nor meet his gaze. It was in this moment that he realized conventional methods of convincing her she was wrong wouldn't work. He'd have to use the Winchester method. "What if I could prove to you that you were wrong about that? Would you come back with me then?"

She thought for a moment then replied, "If you can prove to me beyond a reasonable doubt that my presence doesn't destroy my friends' lives then I'll go back with you." Her hand came up as she added, "But if you can't, you let me go. You tell them whatever you need to in order to make them feel better about it. Understood?"

Cas nodded. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet, shutting his eyes.

*****

Moments later they appeared in the living room of a nice, but modest home. The house was neat and organized; the surfaces were rather immaculate- with a shiny, wooden coffee table and oak flooring- and the entire room followed a clear color scheme of blues with accentuating whites and blacks spattered throughout the room. The early morning light from the windows illuminated the walls which were covered in photos. Most pictures contained two people: a man with long, dark brown hair and gray-blue eyes and a familiar looking black-haired woman. "Anna," Faith breathed as she ran her fingers over a picture of her and the mystery man kissing in wedding attire. She looked beautiful in her white dress and he looked rather dapper with his hair cut short and gelled back. "Where are we?" she asked Cas.

"I've taken you seven years into the future that's currently set to happen. The future where you don't exist." Cas explained. 

Before Faith could question further, she heard the sounds of two people coming down the stairs. "Shit!" she exclaimed in shock. "Should we hide?"

"No. They will be unable to see us."

"Who's they?"

'They' proved to be Anna and her husband, both of whom were deep in conversation as they appeared. "Has she called you back yet?" the man asked as they descended the last of the stairs.

"No, Bucky, she hasn't. And she's really starting to piss me off," Anna replied, resting a hand on her slightly swollen belly.

"I thought you passed pissed off a month ago when she refused to help you plan the anniversary dinner." The man- Bucky- questioned.

"You're right. I'm about ready to murder her. How can she do this to us?" Anna stormed into the kitchen and went to the fridge, immediately pouring herself a glass of orange juice, the unseen Faith and Cas following behind them. "Cassie acts like Faith wasn't her friend for seven years before she-" She cut herself off, overcome with emotion. "Why is it fair that she gets to cut herself off while we're stuck here to remember?"

"It's not." Bucky came over and wrapped a comforting arm around Anna. "I didn't know Faith, but from what you described, she sounds like she was a great friend. Now I don't know Cassie very well so I can't exactly tell you what crawled up her ass and died, but I'm sure if you two talk it about it-"

"There's no talking about it with her, Buck. We've been trying to 'talk about it' for the last seven years, okay? If she wanted to talk about any of this, she wouldn't have left us when Gillian and I needed her the most."

Bucky sighed. "Look, I wish I could tell you things with your friend were gonna work out. It sounds like you still really care about her, but let's not stress about things you can't control. It's not good for Faith." He moved his hands to rest on her stomach as he said this. "Stress and babies don't mix, you know."

Anna's hands placed her hands on top of his. "You're right. I should focus on something else." Her eyes roamed to the clock on the wall. "Like getting to work on time." She gave him a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too, doll. I still wish you wouldn't work. Working with those kids all day-"

"Is stressful?" Anna gave him a look. "I'm five months pregnant. I'm not dying."

"I know, but-"

She put a finger to his lips to stop him from talking. "It may be the twenties, dear, but it's not the 1920s. Times have changed. As long as I feel like I can work, I'm going to keep working." She transferred her juice to a to-go cup as she said this. Turning around, she grabbed her purse off of the kitchen counter along with her car keys. "Now I have to go. I'll see you later." With one last parting kiss, she headed for the door. "Don't you be late either, mister!"

"Love you too!" Bucky called in reply as the door shut behind her. A goofy smile came onto his face as he shook his head before he headed upstairs, presumably to get himself ready for the day.

Faith stared at the spot where they were for a moment, processing the conversation she just witnessed. "Why would you show me that?" she questioned sadly.

"To prove to you that you matter. That your presence impacts the lives of your friends," the angel responded.

"Looks to me like having me gone improved Anna's quality of life. I mean, a good home, her dream job, a hot husband, and a baby on the way? That's a pretty good life. If my dying secures that for her, I'm willing to-"

Cas, looking at her with his brand of incredulous stare, as he interrupted her train of thought. "Did you pay attention to anything they said in that conversation?"

"As a matter of fact, I did. I don't know about you, but-"

"Anna is clearly still not over you dying," he stated bluntly. "She may have built a good life for herself, but your death deeply scarred her."

"Deeply scarred her? What the hell are you talking about? Look at her! She's moved on."

"She's naming her daughter after you!" He exclaimed. "She's naming her child after you to honor your memory. If that's moving on, then you and I have very different interpretations of the phrase."

"A lot of people name their children after dead people. They do it with their dead relatives all the time. It's not a big deal," Faith countered.

"Most people don't name their children after their dead friends. It is a big deal. Don't act like it isn't."

She huffed a sigh. A moment of silence passed before she decided to change the subject. "What was all that business about Cassie? She left?"

"A few months after you died, she decided to pursue her dream of making it in the music industry. She continued trying to get her teaching degree for a while, but soon she realized it was holding her back."

"So she dropped out of school?"

Cas nodded. "Her parents weren't happy about it. They stopped sending her money to help out with payments. By then she'd signed a contract to be a part of one of the biggest opera companies in the US. Anna tried to talk her out of it, but it didn't work. It caused a rift between them which eventually widened as they stopped communicating as frequently."

Faith looked at Cas in shock. "So Cassie decided to pursue her dream because life was too short. Anna tried to get her to see reason but Cassie didn't like that. Now they're in what basically amounts to a Cold War because neither of them is just is smart enough to just  _talk_ to the other?"

He thought about her words for a moment before nodding. "Essentially, yes."

"You're saying my death is the catalyst that ruins their friendship?" Faith sounded like she almost didn't believe her words. 

"If you don't remember, they didn't always get along. They had their arguments. You were always there to serve as a buffer. Without you there to mitigate their disagreements and to serve as a neutral third party, they never got past anything."

"What about Gillian?" she asked.

"Your other friend?" Faith nodded. "From what I've observed, she didn't have as much patience for their antics as you did, making her a less helpful mediator."

She just shook her head. "I don't get it. Cassie would never do something as impulsive as quitting school."

"You underestimate how much you mean to your friends. When you lose someone you love, it's... a game changer, as Dean puts it. There are many reasons why someone would do that, but I can't say for certain why Cassie made that decision."

Faith looked around at the house again, still struck by how well her friend had established a life for herself. She couldn't help but feel a sense of pride radiate from within her. She always knew Anna was capable of success. She was glad to see her leaving hadn't held her back. 

A moment later she was broken out of her thoughts by the feeling of a hand on her shoulder. "We should get going."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Go where?"

"You'll see." With that, they disappeared from the kitchen.

*****

They appeared in the hallway of a school; a middle school judging by the size of the lockers and the signs posted all over the walls. Currently the hallways were empty, but they could hear the sounds of class going on behind the closed doors. Faith looked around to get her bearings. "Why are we here? I'd prefer not to relive my middle school days." She asked.

Cas didn't say a word, only grabbing her by the arm. Walking a few doors down, he stopped in front of door and pointed through the small, rectangular window that allowed them to see into the classroom. Judging by the posters on the walls, it was a history classroom. The few students they could see were staring attentively as their teacher gestured to the SMART board and gave her lecture. That teacher was Anna.

Faith watched for a moment longer before turning her attention back to Cas. "What is she doing teaching at a middle school? She hates middle schoolers."

"It was the only job in the area she could get. It was lucky she did enough schooling to keep her options open," Cas replied.

The class broke out in laughter. "Sounds like they like her," Faith noted. Anna walked over to her desk, continuing to talk. She grabbed her phone off of her desk and looked at it. Looking up from the device, she tapped the screen to answer the call she was getting and said something to her class before approaching the door.

The pair moved out of the way as the door opened and Anna entered the hallway. "Hey, Gillian. What's up?"

"Gillian?" Faith leaned back and decided to listen to the conversation, hoping to gain some insight.

"What? No. No! Cassie's already not coming. I need you here. I need someone here who understands this." Anna let out a sigh and rubbed her temples. "How delayed is your flight?"

Gillian's answer was drowned out by an announcement over the speakers. "Attention, staff and students. We are implementing a full lockdown. Please act in a calm and orderly fashion. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill."

Anna was immediately on the move, Faith and Cas following after her. "I have to go. I'll call you later." She hung up as she entered her classroom and shut the door, locking it quickly and testing the knob for assurance. "Everyone get in the back, left corner now." In one fluid motion Anna shut off all of the lights and made her way over to the corner where the students now sat in a blob formation, looking rather nervous and a little terrified at what was happening.

"Let's jump forward. Let's go somewhere else. Show me what Gillian's been up to," Faith said, not able to stand looking at their fear.

"No." Cas was firm.

Faith looked taken aback. "No?"

"You need to see this."

"See what?" Her heart was hammering in her chest as she was met with silence. "See what, Cas?" When she was met with even more silence, she exclaimed, "Castiel, answer me!" It was then the sound of gunfire was heard followed by screaming. Faith paled as she saw the group flinch and cover their mouths in fright. "Cas, what the hell is going on?"

He didn't answer as he watched Anna try to calm the kids. "Everything will be fine," Anna whispered to them. "Just stay quiet and listen to me, and you'll be okay. I promise."

Faith was getting more desperate by the minute. "Cas, do something!" He was an angel, for crying out loud! He could do something, so why wasn't he?

Cas shook his head solemnly. "We can't interfere. Remember that."

"Why do I need to remember that?" Faith asked nervously.

Anna shook her head. "You can't stay here," she said to the kids quietly. She carefully stood up, holding her hand out behind her telling the kids to stay there. Quickly and quietly she walked over to the windows of the classroom, thankful she was on the first floor. This could work. Now to pray they open like normal windows. "Yes!" Anna whisper-shouted in victory as she jimmied one of the windows open. She turned to the kids and gestured for them to come over to her. As soon as the first child reached her, she ordered, "Climb out, get safe, and get help. As soon as you get outside, run and don't look back."

"What about you, Ms. Barnes?" one of the girls asked their teacher.  

"Don't worry about me. Now go." She began helping the kids funnel through the window. A handful of kids in and someone began trying to get in, but they were stopped by the locked door for the moment. As the jiggling of the knob got more aggressive it was accompanied by a banging. Heart pounding, Anna encouraged them to go faster. The last of her students was scrambling out when whoever was on the other side broke through the rectangular window in the door and stuck their hand through it, trying desperately to get the door open as they banged ferociously on the door. Anna looked terrified as she watched them try to get in through the door, and... there was something else on her face. Some other expression on her face that Faith had only seen in movies and TV before.

"Cas." Faith turned to look at him. "Please stop this."

"You know I can't. The future is set. You can't change it this way."

It happened quickly after that.

The door burst open to reveal a man in his twenties. Young, stupid, armed, and scared. Eyes wide, the man raised his gun to Anna. She raised her hands up. Her own brown eyes reflected the terror she felt in that moment. She didn't let it get the best of her as she tried to reason with him. "Don't shoot. Please. You don’t want-"

Maybe it was a twitch. Maybe it was an overreaction or an instinct. Or maybe it was a purposeful movement of his index finger. Regardless of intent, the result was still the same. The gun went off. The bullet flew across the room ten feet before embedding itself in Anna’s chest. She fell to the floor in a gasping heap as her hands went to the hole in her chest.

Faith let out a scream as her hands flew to her mouth. She watched as the man realized what he'd done. He stared at the gun for a moment as it smoked in his hands. He heard a yell from his friend in the hallway, telling him they had to go and now. Scared, he turned and ran, not giving it a second thought.

"Anna!" Faith ran over to her friend, not caring she couldn't hear.

Cas tried to grab her to stop her but was unsuccessful. "Faith, stop. This isn’t helping."

"No,  _you_ aren't helping! That’s what’s not helping!" she snipped as she kneeled next to Anna. "I need to get control of this bleeding if she’s going to survive long enough for an ambulance to get here."

"It's not going to work. You can’t affect anything in their world. Even if you touch her, it's not going to do anything."

"Shut up, Cas!" Faith located where the bullet had hit- just a little to the left of dead center. She placed her hands on top of the oozing wound, applying a lot of pressure.

As soon as she placed her hands on the wound, however, she felt a chill run down her spine. It was a cold shock, like someone had poured a bucket of ice water over her head. Faith was confused by the feeling, which wasn’t at all relieved when Anna made eye contact with her. Anna’s eyes widened and she looked ready to cry as she gasped out, "Faith?"

Faith met her friend’s eyes and asked, "Can you see me?"

"Y-Yeah." Realization dawned on her. "Oh god. I’m dying. This is me dying, right? I’m dying an-and you’re here to guide me to the... other side or whatever."

Turning around, Faith locked eyes with Cas. "She can see me. Why can she see me?"

Cas examined her, a puzzled look on his face. "I'm not sure."

"Who-Who're you talking to?" Anna asked, her words beginning to run together.

Looking between Anna and Cas, it clicked in her mind. "You can't see him?" Faith looked at Cas. "She can't see you?"

"S-See who? Faith, what’s... what's going on?" Anna was starting to lose consciousness. The blood coating Faith’s hands told her she didn’t have long before she was out completely.

Faith took a moment to process how to answer that. She could tell her the truth and confuse her all to hell in what could be her dying moments, or she could lie and save her friend the trouble. "It's... hard to explain. I’m here now. That’s what you should focus on. That and not dying."

"I am... focusing..." Anna trailed off as her pale eyelids slid shut and her breathing became almost nonexistent.

"No, no, no, no!" Faith checked for a pulse and when she found none she began CPR. As she rhythmically compressed her friend’s chest, she said to Cas, "You know now would be a really good time to step in and- oh, I don’t know- help!"

"I can't," he simply said. "You know I can't." He blinked at her in befuddlement. "I'm not even sure how you can."

She glanced up at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you shouldn’t be able to resuscitate her right now. How that interaction between the two of you just happened is something I can’t recall seeing before."

"Couldn’t you do this though?"

He let out a huff. " _I_ can, but  _you_ can't. Or at least you shouldn’t be able to. I’m an angel. You’re a human. Humans can’t break the wall between this plane of existence and the one we’re in."

"I don't-" Faith’s train of thought was interrupted when police entered the scene, guns pointing right at Faith as they yelled at her to put her hands up. She complied, but not without yelling, "Don't shoot! I’m trying to save her. She has no pulse."

The police, determining that the bloodied and clearly unarmed woman in front of them wasn’t a threat, lowered their guns. One of the officers rushed forward and took over CPR. "Call in the paramedics," he ordered his men before turning back to Faith. "How long has she been down?"

"A few minutes."

Another officer butt in and asked, "Where's the shooter? Did you see them?"

"I don't know where the shooter went," Faith replied. "I didn't get a good look. I was too busy helping the kids get out." Okay, so she lied. What was she supposed to tell them? That she saw the man who shot her best friend but did nothing to stop him because up until about seven minutes ago she was on another plane of existence and dead? Yeah, because that would have been an acceptable answer. Besides, who knew how much longer she’d be here. She had a feeling this experience was like  _A Christmas Carol_ ; she was supposed to realize the error of her ways and make a change so this future wouldn’t happen. 

Faith knew this. She just wasn’t sure if this would be enough to make her decision for her. As the paramedics rushed in and tended to Anna, she thought that it would be okay. They had her. She was going to make it to the hospital and she would be fine. Even her infant counterpart. It was as the paramedics took Anna away that Faith felt a familiar hand on her shoulder and they were gone.

*****

They popped into a rather spacious hospital waiting room. Looking out of  the windows, Faith could see it was pitch black outside. That combined with the fact that the waiting area was empty except for Bucky said that it was late. Bucky looked ragged. His eyes were clouded with weariness and worry as he ran a hand through his hair. 

As Faith looked around the room, she asked Cas, "How did this happen?"

Cas watched her and wrinkled his brow in confusion. "What do you mean? She was-"

"No. I meant... You took Dean to the future before. He could interact with his environment and the people in it, yet you’re saying I shouldn’t be able to. I don’t understand. Why shouldn’t I be able to?"

He sighed. "I was much more powerful back then. I could let that happen. Now, however, I lack the necessary power to allow you to interact with this plane. Sending us here as it is jeopardizes us both."

"So then why can I-"

"I don't know."

Out of the corner of her eye, Faith saw a woman in scrubs walk out and approach Bucky. She turned her body so she could pay attention to the conversation. The woman took off her scrub cap and looked at Bucky with sad eyes. His face crumpled. "No. Please, no," he said as his eyes watered. 

"I'm sorry, Mr. Barnes. Your wife lost a significant amount of blood and it put tremendous strain on her body. It caused her to go into cardiac arrest and we were unable to revive her," the doctor informed. 

"What about the baby?" Bucky looked at her with hope. 

"We were able to save the baby by performing an emergency c-section. She’s in the NICU right now. You should know with a baby this premature there is a possibility for complications. Many of their organ systems are underdeveloped, especially the respiratory system. Your daughter will likely have to stay here for a while."

Bucky let out a sigh of relief. "Can I see the baby?"

"I can take you right now. Follow me please." She turned on her heel and led him to the elevator. "You should prepare yourself. Your daughter is quite-" The conversation was cut off by the shutting of the two massive, wooden doors. 

Faith stood there in shock after having watched them go. She let out a shaky breath as she spoke. "She's dead?" Her chest was suddenly tight as she fought to keep her cool. Anna was gone. Just like that. All she’d done was go about another day in her life, doing what she loved, and to be taken away too soon by some idiot dickbag with a gun? It was just... unfair. Wrong and unfair. 

Cas went to put a comforting hand on her arm at the sight of the pained expression on her face. "Faith-"

"You brought me here to watch my friend get murdered! Why would you do this to me?" She was crying now. "Why would you bring me here to watch my friend die?"

"Because this is the course of history you’ll set in motion if you don’t wake up. You will send her to an early grave by choosing to give up," he told her bluntly. 

" _I'm_ sending her to an early grave? I’m not the one who shot her!"

"But you are the one who set these events in motion. You are allowing this to happen." He gazed at her intently. "You say this decision you’re making is selfless- that you’re doing all this for them- but you’re really doing this for yourself."

Faith was taken aback by the statement. "What?! I am not-"

"Yes, you are. You’re scared of what your life has to offer. You’re allowing the things that have happened to you influence how you see what your future could be. You think you’re saving everyone from yourself, but what you’re really doing is depriving the world of the things you could do to make it better. You’re not giving your friends the choice to get rid of you. You’re making the choice for them without all of the information. It is selfish. You are doing it for yourself. You can’t tell me that’s not what’s happening here."

Faith shook her head and started to cry. "Cas... What do I do? I can’t just... Can I?"

"That is up to you. I’ve told you all I can. Now it’s time for you to make this decision. You can't do anything for this Anna, but you can still help your Anna. You just need to choose to live." He gestured to the space around him. "I need you to decide now. I can’t stay here much longer and I fear you won't be able to come back without my help."

"So you’re saying I have to choose right now whether I live or die?"

"Yes."

There was silence after that. What was she supposed to do? Did she go back on her decision and give life another try or did she stay in this cozy afterlife bubble? Did she give up on a future or strive for a better one? Did she stay or did she go? Did she go back and answer all of her unanswered questions or did she let them forever remain a mystery? How the hell was she supposed to make a decision like that?

The longer they stood there, the clearer it became. She knew what choice she had to make, even if she didn’t necessarily like it. As she held out her hand to Cas she realized two things; she owed her friends too much and she couldn’t just leave those questions left unanswered. She was too young and too many things were up in the air to give up now. 

Smiling, Cas took Faith’s hand, happy with her decision. 

*****

Back in the living room in the present, Dean was pacing the floor. He spared worried glances to the pair of unconscious individuals. Anna and Gillian were staring at them, willing them to wake up. Cassie anxiously picked at her nails, switching from looking at her raw nailbeds to looking Faith and back to her nails again every few seconds. Sam was the only one who looked anywhere close to calm. He had taken to reading a book, knowing that worrying about them wouldn’t make the process go any faster. 

"It's been too long," Dean stated as he stopped his relentless pacing. "They should be awake by now."

"They should?" Cassie asked worriedly, feeling that all-too-familiar pang in her chest. 

Sam shot Dean a glare. "We don't know that. Cas knows what he’s doing. He’ll bring Faith back."

Dean just shook his head. "You don't know that."

"You have to believe that they will."

He rolled his eyes. "Because believing hard enough really got us places before."

"Stop," Anna said firmly. "We're not arguing about this. We’re not arguing at all. No one is going to say another word about anything until they wake up."

The room fell back into worried silence once again. The quiet didn’t last long, however, as a few minutes later Faith and Cas jolted awake; their eyes wide and gasps escaping their lips. Cassie all but fell out of her chair at the sudden motion. Anna and Sam were on their feet as Gillian stared wide-eyed at the pair.

"Oh my god," Gillian said with awe. "They're back."

"Faith?" Anna was by her friend’s side in an instant.

Dean soon came to join them. "Cas, buddy, talk to me. You there?"

"Yes, Dean, I am here. You can clearly see I’m physically here," Cas responded tiredly, wiping the blood away from his nose. 

The older Winchester rolled his eyes. "He's fine."

"Faith, come on. Say something." Anna didn’t like the silence. Faith being quiet was never a good thing. She knew from experience. 

Faith didn’t say anything as she pulled Anna into a tight hug. "I love you," she whispered to her friend. 

Relieved, Anna hugged Faith back even tighter. "I love you too." They hugged for a moment longer before pulling away. Anna then smacked her on the arm. "Don't ever do that to me again!"

Faith rubbed the spot on her arm where she was hit. "Wasn't planning on it."

Sam then spoke. "I guess we should goto bed. It’s been a long day and we have to head out in the morning."

"No," Cas stated as he, too, stood up, albeit shakily.

Dean was there to steady Cas. "Sam is right. You should get some rest. You nearly killed yourself going in there."

"No, Dean. What I mean is we can’t leave yet."

The Winchesters looked at the angel in confusion. "What do you mean we can’t leave yet?" Dean asked. "We have to track down the demons that did this to Faith and figure out what they want."

"No, we need to figure out what Faith is."

Gillian looked at Cas in confusion. "Okay, now you’ve lost me."

"What are you talking about?" Sam questioned. "Faith is human, isn’t she?"

"She did something while we were in there," Cas told them. "Something she shouldn’t have been able to do."

Dean looked at Cas with skepticism. "Are you saying what I think you’re saying?"

"I'm saying she's-"

"He's saying I'm not human," Faith interrupted to clarify things for everyone. She looked down at her hands, still able to feel Anna’s blood on her hands.

**Author's Note:**

> I may have a problem with cliffhangers... sorry?
> 
> Did you like it? Want more? Leave me a kudos or a comment letting me know!
> 
> Want to request something of your own? You can do that here in the comments or on my Tumblr page (@notsoobviousfangirl).
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


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